The field of the invention is brushes and the invention relates more particularly to brushes for cleaning fruits and vegetables. Relatively stiff brushes are commonly used to clean potatoes but such brushes are not suitable for more fragile foodstuffs such as an ear of fresh corn. While the ear of corn does not typically need cleaning, it does have corn silk which is tedious to remove. Other vegetables such as mushrooms have a very tender skin and are not properly cleaned with the conventional vegetable brush.
One brush has been developed for the specific purpose of removing corn silk. This brush is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,313 and is made from a wire screen. A wire screen would tend to damage the tender kernels of an ear of corn. Also, a one-piece polyethylene surgeon's scrub brush has been sold purportedly for removing corn silk. The bristles of this brush are all one height. Because of the flat face of the brush, it must be pressed very hard against the corn to attempt to get in between the rows of kernels where the silk is located. Because of the stiffness of the bristles, and the brushing pressure required, kernels are likely to be damaged. The total effect of the cleaning is also imperfect.